Piano’s Flowers Buys Shackelford’s

By Bill Dries

Shackelford’s Florist has ended a months-long search for a new owner by agreeing to be acquired by Piano’s Flowers & Gifts Inc., a local florist with decades of experience in the local market.

“We weren’t looking,” said Chuck Strong, owner of Piano’s Flowers, which closed the former Shackelford’s location following the purchase. “We ended up being the benefactor.”

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Shackelford’s, owned by Bill and Wanda Goodman, called their customers to inform them of the change, something Strong said is very unusual in such transactions.

“We weren’t looking. We ended up being the benefactor.”

–Chuck StrongOwner, Piano’s Flowers & Gifts Inc.

The deal was done in October when Shackelford’s lease at Quince and Ridgeway was up and Strong moved some equipment he wanted from the site to his location at 4532 Elvis Presley Boulevard.

Piano’s, which also hired three designers and a driver from Shackelford’s, opted not to operate from two locations.

Piano’s is named for Strong’s late mother-in-law, who did floral arrangements for decades before she and her family, including Strong, started the business 32 years ago with a shop on Brownlee Road. That was followed by a location on Elvis Presley Boulevard and then buying the current store on Elvis Presley.

“We didn’t start this business on a whim,” Strong said. “My mother-in-law had already been in the business 40 years and my wife had worked in the biz part time through high school and college.”

The Goodmans owned Shackelford’s for 23 years, the latest in a series of three owners starting with Charlotte Shackelford.